Throughout history bats have been objects of fear, hostility, and myths, largely due to their nocturnal, mysterious behavior. Horror movies and media exaggerations has led people to believe they are dangerous disease-ridden blood suckers. The truth is very different.

Fascinating Bat Bits

Bats are the only true flying mammal, making up a quarter of the world's mammals. There are 1,100 species of bats, with forty species in the USA.  California has twenty-five species, most of which are insectivores.

Bats are one of only three mammals that generally sleep upside down, with sloths and manatees being the other two.

Bats can live between five and thirty years, depending on the species. Most female bats have only one pup per year, making them vulnerable to extinction.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, fruit-eating bats are responsible for dispersing seeds that grow into bananas, avocados and 300 other plant species around the world. Agave plants (which are the source of tequila and mezcal) evolved to supply most of their nectar after dark to attract the nocturnal bats to cross-pollinate their flowers.

Insect eating bats often consume their own weight in insects each night, eating up to a thousand mosquito-size insects in an hour! It is estimated that bats' value to agriculture could exceed $23 million per year.

Bats are excellent fliers with some species flying up to 60-100 mph.  They can locate and catch insects in midflight in total darkness, using echolocation, which is the ability to locate objects by reflected sound waves.

Where Do Bats Live?

Bat roosting sites include caves, tree cavities, buildings, bridges, attics, barns, bat boxes or other structures.

Usually, males and females with young will roost separately, but in late summer or early autumn, males may join the colony. In the winter when insects become scarce, some bats hibernate, while others may migrate to warmer areas, returning in the spring months.

Bat Myths and Facts

Because of their nocturnal habits, bats are rarely seen, so seem mysterious and are often misunderstood.

Myth - Bats suck people's blood.

Fact - There are three species of “vampire bats” whose food source is blood. None are found in the USA.

Myth - Bats are blind.

Fact - Bats do have small eyes, but they are functional. Megabats, which are larger bats such as fruit bats (found in forests of Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe), search for their food using both sight and smell.

Myth - Bats fly towards and get tangled in people's hair.

Fact - Bats hang upside down from their roosts and tend to drop down and flap their wings before they start to lift off in flight. So, though it may appear the animals are swooping down on you and want to nest in your hair, they're not. In fact, bats don't make nests.

Bats as Pests

Like many mammals, bats can contract rabies. It is rare for a rabid bat to bite a human. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 59,000 humans die from rabies each year, with 99% of these deaths being due to contact with rabid, unvaccinated dogs.

Most bat parasites such as fleas and mites are host specific and cannot survive on other animals. No evidence exists of disease transmission to humans or domestic pets from bat parasites.

Bat droppings, known as guano, can harbor a widespread fungus found in soil, Histoplasma capsulatum, which causes Histoplasmosis in humans. However, most human infections come from birds.

If You Find a Bat. . .

A bat that flies into your living space is usually lost, perhaps young, and its only goal is to find an exit outside. While keeping it in sight, close all the interior doors to the room, opening exterior doors and windows to provide means for the bat to escape.

If you find a bat laying on the ground, please leave it alone, especially in the spring or fall, when they may be migrating and are just resting during their long journey. If after an hour or two, the bat has not moved, it is likely sick and should be avoided. If it is in an area where children or pets can access it, you may want to trap it. While wearing leather gloves, carefully put a box over it and slide a piece of cardboard underneath it to trap it. Then contact your local wildlife rescue organization (in Stanislaus County that is the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center at 1220 Geer Rd., Hughson, 209-883-9414).

Bats in Trouble

More than half of the bat species in the United States are in severe decline or listed as endangered. In addition to loss of habitat, tree-roosting and migratory bats face significant threats from wind turbines.

One of their most dire threats comes from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease that has decimated bats in the USA and Canada.  Bats that hibernate during the winter do so to ration their energy and survive during a time of year when insects are scarce. The WNS fungus grows on bats' skin which disturbs their hibernation, thus increasing the amount of energy they are using, resulting in dehydration, starvation and often, death. However, a 2015 breakthrough appears promising. A team of researchers treated infected bats infected with a common bacterium on bananas which seems to stop the growth of the fungus. The treated bats were successfully released back to the wild.

How Can You Help Bats

Bats are a part of healthy and diverse ecosystems. Some ways you can help:

• Learn more about bats, educating friends and family.
• With an iNaturalist app on your smartphone, you can take part in citizen science by observing bats in a park or your own backyard.
• Build a bat house. Bats need places to roost, rest, raise young. UC IPM gives information how to build a backyard bat house: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74150.html.  Other bat house links are provided in Resources. Choose a pesticide-free open location with five to seven hours of sunlight. Bats prefer interior temperatures of 80-100ºF during the summer.
• Stay out of caves when directed. Bats need to be undisturbed in caves, particularly in the winter months. If you do visit caves where bats live, clean your shoes before and after to avoid tracking white nose syndrome to another cave.  

Where to Go See Bats

There are a couple locations near Stanislaus County where you can go see bats at dusk during the warmer months:

• Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area: Not far from Sacramento, this colony resides under the Yolo Causeways, a 3-mile-viaduct on Interstate 80. These are Mexican Free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) who take up residence in the crevices in the concrete bridge. The colony numbers up to a quarter-million bats in size. If you want to see the bats yourself, you can find a place with a good view, but you can also book tours that are specifically designed to get you close enough to see the colony. https://www.yolobasin.org/bats2022/ 
• Consumnes River Preserve: Near Lodi, several species of bats are found in both the riparian forest and in a bat-friendly bridge built over the Cosumnes River. https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/cosumnes-river/

 

All About Bats Webinar

If you wish to learn more about these vital, fascinating creatures, join Rachael Long, UC ANR Integrated Pest Management Advisor for Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Counties for her webinar “All About Bats.” Rachael will discuss the natural history of bats, including common types found in California, bats and pest control, bat boxes to attract bats, excluding unwanted bats, bats and rabies prevention, as well as fielding questions from participants about bats. Listed below is registration information:

Webinar: “All About Bats”
Where: On Zoom
When: Wednesday, October 12, 2022, from 1:00-2:30 p.m
Instructor: Rachael Long, UC ANR Integrated Pest Management for Yolo, Solano and Sacramento Counties
Cost: Free
Register: https://ucanr.edu/all/about/bats 

 

Resources

What Insects Do Bats Eat?  https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm?tagname=bats

Bats, Allies to Farmers: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=23708&postnum=23708

Bats in the Belfry:  https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=17395

Fear of Bats and Its Consequences by Merlin Tuttle:  https://secemu.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Tuttle_et_al_2017.pdf

Bat Myths: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/nature/article/bat-myths-busted

Myth Busters: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bats/myth-busters.htm

Nature Conservancy – Bats: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/animals-we-protect/bats/

Bat Conservation and Management – Bats in Buildings:https://batmanagement.com/blogs/bat-exclusion-control/bats-in-buildings

White nose syndrome: https://blog.nature.org/science/2015/05/27/bananas-to-bats-the-science-behind-the-first-bats-successfully-treated-for-white-nose-syndrome/

All About Bat Houses: https://batmanagement.com/pages/lc-bh-overview

Selecting a Quality Bat House: https://www.merlintuttle.org/selecting-a-quality-bat-house/

 

 

 

 

Succulent plants come in a plethora of sizes, shapes, and colors. They are fun to grow, and most of all, easy to share with friends!

Did you know? All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti?

This class will focus on the non-spiny succulent plants that can be grown in our area, especially those that use less water - and there are a lot to choose from! During class you'll learn the names of common succulent plants, their sun and water requirements, and how to care for them. Classes last approximately 90 minutes.

Stanislaus County Libraries – Gardening with Succulents Classes

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. – Salida Library
Saturday, October 15, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. – Riverbank Library
Monday, October 10, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. – Ceres Library
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. – Oakdale Library
Monday, October 24, 2022 at 6:15 p.m. – Modesto Library
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. – Turlock Library

Stanislaus County Agricultural Center, Harvest Hall, Gardening with Succulents Workshop

Saturday, October 22, 2022 from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 pm rooms AB&C
Cost: $25
Space is limited, register now at https://ucanr.edu/succulent/workshop/2022

Turlock Community Gardens – Drip Irrigation

Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 9:00-10:30 a.m.

Want to know more about how drip irrigation works? Come learn from our Master Gardener who will give you an overview. Bring your questions!

Patterson Library – Composting Basics

Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.

If you missed our composting classes held at other libraries, you still have a chance to take this one! Learn the basics of composting, including the difference between “greens” and “browns,” what you can and can't compost, and simple tricks for being successful. Plus, one lucky person will take home a free compost bin!

*no need to register for Stanislaus County Library or Turlock Community Garden Classes. Just come. We look forward to meeting you!

 

Starting around mid-August through September, both the Western Monarch and Eastern Monarch butterfly populations (Danaus plexippus) begin their long journey south from southern Canada and northern USA to their overwintering sites in coastal California and Mexico. These magnificent, colorful creatures are the world's most recognized and beloved butterflies.  Yet, they are increasingly in danger of becoming extinct.

Life Cycle

Like all butterflies, Monarch butterflies have four life stages: 

• Egg: The female Monarch lays her eggs on their sole host plant, the milkweed (Asclepias). She generally lays one egg per plant.  Each egg is about the size of a grain of salt. 
• Larva (Caterpillar):  After 3 – 5 days, the Monarch egg hatches to a larva, also called a caterpillar, eating only milkweed leaves. They go through five instar stages over a period of 10 – 14 days as they grow from 1/16^th of an inch to about two inches, molting their exoskeleton at each stage.
• Pupa: The caterpillar finds a protected place to develop its chrysalis for the pupal stage. During the next 11-15 days the pupa will change to an adult by liquifying its body while inside the chrysalis, ultimately emerging to the adult butterfly.
• Adult: In the final hours before emergence, the chrysalis becomes translucent, a crack will appear, with the Monarch butterfly freeing itself from the case. Hanging from the now-empty chrysalis case, it will spend the next few hours pumping fluid into its wings until they are firm enough to fly. Eventually it will take flight and start seeking out nectar for its 1^st meal. Adult Monarch butterflies feed on flowers, which makes them pollinators. The nectar provides energy for flight, mating, and migration.

Milkweed

Milkweeds are herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants, named for their latex, a milky substance, which is exuded when the plant is damaged. It is potentially toxic to humans and many other species.  Monarchs have evolved the ability to store the toxins. Caterpillars feeding on milkweed retain the poison as chrysalids and adults. Birds and other Monarch predators dislike the toxins and learn to avoid them. (https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=19440).

Migration

The Monarch migration is extraordinary with none quite like it in the butterfly world. A Monarch butterfly begins an epic one-way journey south up to 2,800 miles to a specific place where they have never been to before, where their great-grandparent spent the previous winter. It remains largely a mystery how successive generations know the route and where to spend the winter months.

No single Monarch makes the entire round trip journey north and south. There are four to five generations each year. Three to four generations make the journey north in the spring and summer months, with each generation moving further north.  Each northward generation consists of adults feeding on nectar, mating, females laying eggs on milkweed, the parents dying, their offspring hatching from eggs, going through the larval and pupal stages, ultimately becoming adults, and continuing the cycle. The adults in these generations live two to six weeks.

Late in summer or early fall, a final generation emerges.  Triggered by changes in temperature and sunlight, this generation will migrate south. Known as the “Methuselah” generation (after the biblical patriarch said to have lived 969 years), they can live up to 6 – 8 months. They do not emerge as sexually mature butterflies, being in a “sexual diapause,” so their energies can be focused on developing flight muscles and storing lipids for their long journey south and surviving the winter months.

Come spring, with warming temperatures and longer days, these butterflies will become sexually mature, feed on nectar, mate, and start moving northward, laying eggs, which will hatch to continue the annual migration cycle.

You may see migrating Monarchs this fall in your garden feeding on nectar flowers, resting on flat flowers or rocks, or drinking from water sources.  Admire them, but leave them be, since they still have some distance to go to reach their wintering grounds. In California, their wintering spots are along coastal areas from Monterey area (Pacific Grove) to San Diego.

Monarchs in Trouble

On July 21 of this year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announced the Monarch butterfly has been put on its "Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered” due to habitat destruction, climate change, and pesticides, with the primary reason being reduction in milkweed plants that are so vital to their survival.

In temperate areas like the Central Valley, the tropical milkweed plant (Asclepias currasavica) does not go dormant. A parasite that lives on the plant is ingested by developing caterpillars and is linked lower migration success and reductions in lifespan. Choose milkweed species that goes through winter dormancy such as narrowleaf milkweed and showy milkweed (A. fasicularis and speciosa.) 

The IUCN announcement states: "The western population is at greatest risk of extinction, having declined by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the 1980s and 2021.” In addition, "The larger eastern population also shrunk by 84% from 1996 to 2014. Concern remains as to whether enough butterflies survive to maintain the populations and prevent extinction."

Sign up for our Free Class!

On Saturday, October 15, UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardeners Rhonda Allen and Denise Godbout-Avant will give a talk on these marvelous butterflies that so many love. Learn about butterflies in general, more about Monarchs, their life cycle and their incredible migration, the importance of nectar plants and milkweed to their survival, and how you can help them. Free milkweed seed packets will be given to attendees.  Use the link below to register.

Date: Saturday, October 15, 2022
Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Where: Stanislaus Agricultural Center, 1800 Cornucopia Way, Harvest Hall 
Register: http://ucanr.edu/monarchs/2022

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Resources:

• Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site   https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterflies 
• Butterflies in Your Garden  https://ucanr.edu/sites/CEStanislausCo/files/345791.pdf
• Xerces Society - Pollinator Plants: California  https://xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/pollinator-plants-California
• UC Davis Arboretum – Larval Hosts for Butterflies https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/blog/larval-host-plants-butterflies
• California Native Plant Society – Native Planting Guides https://www.cnps.org/gardening/choosing-your-plants/native-planting-guides
• Tropical Milkweed - a no grow  https://xerces.org/blog/tropical-milkweed-a-no-grow 
• Calscape CA native plants     https://www.calscape.org/
• UC ANR Bug Squad Blog     https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)  https://www.iucn.org/
• The Monarch: Saving Our Most Beloved Butterfly, by Kylee Baumle, St. Lynn's PressMilkweed Poisoning: https://www.poison.org/articles/milkweed-can-cause-serious-poisoning-204